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    Association of intracellular and synaptic organization in cochlear inner hair cells revealed by 3D electron microscopy

    Bullen, A. and West, T. and Moores, Carolyn A. and Ashmore, J. and Fleck, R.A. and MacLellan-Gibson, K. and Forge, A. (2015) Association of intracellular and synaptic organization in cochlear inner hair cells revealed by 3D electron microscopy. Journal of Cell Science 128 , pp. 2529-2540. ISSN 0021-9533.

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    Abstract

    The ways in which cell architecture is modelled to meet cell function is a poorly understood facet of cell biology. To address this question, we have studied the cytoarchitecture of a cell with highly specialised organisation, the cochlear inner hair cell (IHC), using multiple hierarchies of 3D electron microscopy analyses. We show that synaptic terminal distribution on the IHC surface correlates with cell shape, and the distribution of a highly organised network of membranes and mitochondria encompassing the infranuclear region of the cell. This network is juxtaposed to a population of small vesicles and represents a potential new source of neurotransmitter vesicles for replenishment of the synapses. Structural linkages between organelles that underlie this organisation were identified by high resolution imaging. Together these results describe a cell-encompassing network of membranes and mitochondria present in IHCs which support efficient coding and transmission of auditory signals. Such techniques also have the potential for clarifying functionally specialised cytoarchitecture of other cell types.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences
    Research Centres and Institutes: Structural Molecular Biology, Institute of (ISMB)
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 08 Jun 2015 05:55
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:17
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/12317

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